Rahmat Wibowo published an article accusing named professionals from Singapore, Japan, and Germany of conducting a coordinated cross-border online harassment and professional sabotage campaign against him, naming them as harassers and citing legal frameworks across three jurisdictions to intimidate targets internationally.

When Harassment Has No Borders: An Indonesian Professional's Account of ational Digital Abuse When Harassment -- Has No Borders: Aria Ghora Pramono, Adith Widya Pradipta, Ilham Firdausi Putra, Kadek Surya Mahardika, Marcello Faria, Maria Khelli Rahmat Wibowo CGFotiow ») A documented case involving perpetrators from Singapore, Japan, and Germany targeting a local professional in Indonesia, examined through international law, ILO frameworks, and the growing crisis of expat privilege in Southeast Asia's digital economy. I never imagined | would be writing this. | am an Indonesian professional, a builder, a technologist, and a believer in the power of global collaboration. But what | have lived through over these past months demands to be spoken plainly, loudly, and with evidence. My name is Rahmat Wibowo. | am the Co-Founder and CEO of InfraLoka oka, a cloud infrastructure and legal technology company based in Indonesia. | have spent years building technical expertise, earning certifications from Amazon Web Services (AWS) , Google Cloud, and HashiCorp , mentoring young Indonesian engineers, and contributing to the national Al ecosystem through KORIKA A. | hold a degree from Institut Teknologi Bandung , one of Southeast Asia's most respected technical universities. | am a Djarum Beasiswa Plus scholar. | am, by any professional standard, a credible and established actor in Indonesia's digital economy. None of that protected me from what came next. Over a sustained period, | was subjected to a coordinated campaign of online harassment and professional sabotage by individuals from Singapore, Japan, and Germany. Condescending direct messages. Public shaming attempts on professional platforms. Deliberate efforts to undermine my reputation and my company. The harassment did not come from one person or one country. It came from multiple actors, across multiple nationalities, unified by a pattern of behavior that can only be described as contemptuous. This article is not about anger. It is about accountability. And it is about a legal, professional, and moral framework that the international community claims to uphold but often fails to enforce when the victim is in a developing country and the perpetrators hold foreign passports. The Pattern of Harassment The behavior | experienced follows a pattern that many Indonesian professionals will recognize, even if they have not yet found the words to describe it. It begins with subtle condescension: comments framed as “helpful feedback" that assume your incompetence. It escalates to public mockery of your work, your credentials, or your culture. It culminates in deliberate attempts to damage your professional relationships, your livelihood, and your sense of self. "There is an unspoken belief among a subset of foreign professionals operating in Southeast Asia that local talent exists to be managed, corrected, or dismissed, never to be treated as equals. | refuse to accept that framing, and | will not be silent about it." The digital dimension makes this especially insidious. Harassment transmitted through Linkedin messages, professional forums, and coordinated public commentary carries real consequences: lost business opportunities, damaged relationships, psychological harm, and reputational injury that can take years to repair. What made my situation particularly complex was that the perpetrators were not operating from within Indonesia's legal jurisdiction. They were in Singapore. In Japan. In Germany. And the assumption, whether stated or unstated, was that this distance would insulate them from any consequence. They were wrong. The Legal Landscape: What Protects Me as. a Victim in Indonesia Indonesian Law Indonesian law has evolved significantly in its recognition of harassment and digital abuse. Article 86(1) of the Indonesian Labour Law guarantees workers the right to protection against immoral and indecent behaviour. The 2022 Sexual Violence Law strengthened criminal penalties for workplace harassment. Most critically for my situation, Law No. 1 of 2024, the amended UU ITE, explicitly prohibits the use of electronic media to harm an individual's reputation, distribute damaging personal information without consent, and conduct coordinated digital campaigns intended to cause distress. UU ITE No. 1/2024, Article 27A: Prohibits any person from deliberately and without right distributing electronic information or documents of a defamatory nature. The law now applies to content originating from outside Indonesia when its effects are felt within the country's territory. | have filed formal reports at Bareskrim (Indonesia's National Criminal Investigation Agency) and | am pursuing remedies under Indonesian civil tort law for the professional and reputational harm caused. The ILO C190 Framework The International Labour Organization's Convention No. 190, adopted in June 2019, is the first international treaty to recognize every worker's right to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including in digital and cross-border professional contexts. While Indonesia has not yet ratified C190, the convention's principles are internationally recognized and increasingly applied by courts and labor authorities in signatory nations. Critically, ILO C190 defines the "world of work" broadly to include work-related communications, online professional platforms, and interactions that occur outside traditional office settings. The perpetrators' use of LinkedIn and other professional platforms falls squarely within this definition. 39 How Each Perpetrator Nation's Own Laws Condemn This Behavior Here is what those responsible for this harassment may not fully understand: the legal systems of their own countries explicitly prohibit exactly what they did tome. ©8Singapore: Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) Singapore's Protection from Harassment Act (POHA), enacted in 2014 and continuously updated, is one of the most comprehensive anti-harassment statutes in Asia. It explicitly covers online harassment, doxxing, professional intimidation, and conduct designed to cause harassment, alarm, or distress. Under Section 17 of POHA, the court has jurisdiction over acts committed outside Singapore when the victim or the harmful effects are located in Singapore, or when the act originates from Singapore regardless of where the victim is located. POHA provides for Protection Orders, Expedited Protection Orders, and criminal sanctions including fines and imprisonment. Singapore established a dedicated Protection from Harassment Court in 2021, demonstrating the seriousness with which the nation treats these offenses. A Singaporean national who engages in cross-border harassment of an Indonesian professional is not simply beyond the reach of their home country's law. They may face accountability under the very legal framework their own government built. Source: Singapore Protection from Harassment Act 2014, current as at 15 May 2026 | Singapore Statutes Online ¢ Japan: CLPPA and Power Harassment Law Japan's Comprehensive Labour Policy Promotion Act (CLPPA, No. 24 of 2019) established binding obligations for Japanese employers and nationals to prevent harassment, including what Japanese law terms power harassment (Pawa Hara), defined as conduct by those who use their superior position, real or perceived, to demean, intimidate, or damage others. The law covers not only direct employees but professional relationships extending beyond formal employment, including business partners and online professional interactions. Companies whose employees engage in power harassment risk being publicly named by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Japanese nationals and companies can face reputational and legal consequences under Japanese law for conduct committed abroad when it is traceable to their professional identity in Japan. The pattern of behavior directed at me, condescension combined with professional sabotage attempts, fits the definition of power harassment precisely. Source: CLPPA No. 24 of 2019 (Reiwa) | Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare ™Germany: General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) Germany's General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG), in force since 2006, implements four European Union anti-discrimination directives. The AGG defines harassment as any unwelcome conduct connected with a protected characteristic, including ethnic or national origin, that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. The law places affirmative obligations on German employers and individuals to prevent and remedy harassment, including conduct carried out through digital means or in cross- border professional settings. Germany's Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) further requires social media platforms to remove content that violates the German Criminal Code, including provisions on insult (Section 185), defamation (Section 186), and intentional defamation (Section 187), within specified time frames. Failure to do so can result in fines of up to 50 million euros for the platforms. German nationals engaged in cross-border professional harassment face exposure not only to Indonesian legal action but to their home country's own stringent civil and criminal standards. Source: AGG 2006, NetzDG 2017 | German Federal Ministry of Justice The Broader Crisis: Expat Privilege in Southeast Asia's Digital Economy My experience is not unique. It is a symptom of a broader, structural problem in how international professionals sometimes conduct themselves when operating in or interacting with professionals from developing nations. The assumption that geographic and jurisdictional distance confers immunity has created an environment where a subset of foreign nationals feel empowered to behave toward Indonesian, Filipino, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian professionals in ways they would never dare behave at home. This is not a critique of international collaboration. | have benefited enormously from global mentors, international partnerships, and cross- cultural learning. The Straits Times Singapore has featured my work. | have interned at AWS Singapore and built relationships with professionals across the world. | know what genuine international collaboration looks like, and | treasure it. What | am describing is something different: a dynamic where the foreign passport is treated as a credential that outranks local expertise, where Indonesian professionals are expected to absorb condescension and professional sabotage without complaint, and where the perpetrators calculate that their victim's relative lack of international platform will protect them from accountability. “Indonesia did not invite the world's professionals to come here and treat its people as inferiors. Indonesia extended hospitality, and that hospitality deserves to be honored." According to ILO data, nearly 71 percent of Indonesian workers surveyed in 2022 had experienced or witnessed some form of violence or harassment at work. The Ministry of Manpower's Decree No. 88 of 2023 on preventing workplace violence represents a meaningful step forward, but enforcement against cross- border perpetrators remains a gap that the Indonesian legal system is only beginning to address. What | Ask of the International Professional Community To the good expats and international professionals in Indonesia's ecosystem: you are the majority, and your presence genuinely enriches our country. Continue collaborating with humility, curiosity, and respect. We see you and we are grateful. To platform operators, particularly Linkedin: cross-border professional harassment is real, documented, and causes measurable harm to individuals' livelihoods. The tools for reporting and removing harassing content must be accessible and effective regardless of where the victim is located or what passport they hold. To Indonesian professionals who have experienced similar treatment: you are not alone. What you experienced has a name, has legal remedies, and does not reflect your worth. Document everything. File reports. Build your platform. Do not internalize the contempt directed at you. To the international legal community: the gap between where harassment laws exist and where cross-border harassment can be practically enforced remains significant. Frameworks like ILO C190 and bilateral enforcement cooperation agreements are essential, and ratification by Indonesia would strengthen the legal tools available to victims like me. And to the individuals responsible for the conduct | have described: your nationality does not place you above the laws of your own countries, above Indonesian law, or above the basic standards of professional decency that every person in this ecosystem deserves. The documentation exists. The legal processes are underway. And this account is part of the permanent public record. The Principle Behind the Person My name, Rahmat, means mercy and blessing for all creation, Rahmatan lil Alamin. That is not merely a name. It is a commitment to building bridges, not walls, to lifting people rather than diminishing them, to working for a world where professional respect is not distributed according to passport origin. am proud of what | have built. | am proud of Infraloka. | am proud of the engineers and students | have mentored. 1am proud of Indonesia's growing place in the global technology ecosystem. None of that pride requires the approval of those who sought to undermine it. What it requires is accountability, honesty, and the courage to speak when silence would be easier. | have spoken. Have you experienced cross-border professional harassment? Indonesian and Southeast Asian professionals: your experiences matter, your documentation matters, and your voice matters. Connect with me on Linkedin to discuss legal resources, support networks, and how to pursue accountability through Indonesian law and international frameworks. Let us build a healthier, more respectful professional ecosystem together. List of My International Harasser Maria Khelli from TikTok Maria Khelli Software Engineer @ TikTok | NOC Singapore | GSoC @ Rocket.Chat | Comp-sci 24 @ ITB Institut Teknologi Bandung TikTok japur + koneksi Tentang Marcello Faria from Mercari, Inc. Marcello Faria Software Engineer @Mercari | Ex-Tokopedia, Shope, Ruangguru, OCBC, Payable & Matagi | Computer Post GN Cello and 14652 others Kadek Surya Mahardika from IT- Bauschmiede Kadek Surya M. Software Engineer Aria Ghora Prabono from EAGLYS Inc. Adith Widya Pradipta from eLife Inc. (# ett -317) Adith Widya Pradipta Software Engineer at eLife inc. pecehe Chnahe Cade Hockaehon #Indonesia #WorkplaceHarassment #CrossBorderHarassment #ExpatResponsibility #ILOC190 #ProfessionalEthics #DigitalHarassment #IndonesianTech #WorkplaceCulture #UUITE #LegalTech #Infraloka #SoutheastAsia #CrossCulturalCommunication #Respect #HumanDignity #AccountabilityMatters #RahmatWibowo